


A Rodeo to Remember

by Wheres_my_cravat



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Barrelman!Eren, Blood, Blood and Gore, Bull Riding, Bullrider!Levi, Eren is sweet, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, I didn't see a single rodeo fic for this fandom so I was like lets do this!, Injury, Levi is mean, Light Masochism, M/M, Pain, Slow Build, Welcome, bad language, cursing, cute fluff and other gay stuff, long story, not-good stuff, rodeo, the, to
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-06
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-22 02:52:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7416742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wheres_my_cravat/pseuds/Wheres_my_cravat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a professional bull rider and wishes to become the greatest in the world. Which, would be great, except his life is complicated enough as it is. And now he has this crush on the rodeo clown who just keeps getting himself into trouble.</p><p>Or in other words, that one fanfic where Levi is really into his work but a little brat comes along and makes him think about his priorities.</p><p>I am going to take up writing this fic again. You can thank my readers. Y'all are great. There should be a new chapter in sometime in September 2017.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My Dance

**Author's Note:**

> This is my third story on this site! Yay! If you want to check out my other works then by all means. I haven't written much fanfic lately, but here this is. My other two stories are different. One is an assassin's creed fanfic with an OC in it, and the other is an original story that I have been working on. Enjoy!

There is nothing like Bull Riding.

_Not a single thing in this world that is it's equal._

From the moment I see the bull I am to ride, to the moment I am flung from the bull, there is a silent respect for the creature. A sort of understanding. That creature before me holds my life in their grasp, and they are more than happy to crush me. 

While I am on the bull, there is no time. I can feel the world slowing around me and there is nothing but my beating heart and the furry of the bull. The rage that seeps into his every movement rips through my body as I try to cling for my life. Of course I hope to get points in order to make it to the next rodeo, that's not what I think of when I am on the bull. No, it would be impossible.

In those moments I know I am in the presence of a far stronger creature, and I am trying to further our dance. Pure adrenaline rules my mind for those few seconds while on the bull, and those horror filled seconds of scrambling to safety after being thrown from the creature.

 _Of course I never thought I would get to this point. I am 8th in the world and I want to be first._  

Rain pounded on my window, waking me from my thoughts.

"Tch." I sighed deeply. Tomorrow I would be 'ridding' the infamous Broken Backs. Or as Eren and I called him, BB. BB was the number 6 bull in the world. It was going to be quite the ride. I couldn't quite believe it . Rodeo season was almost over and tomorrow would be my last ride.

I don't usually say ride. The word 'ride' doesn't capture what it is I do. It's not really a ride, it's more like a dance, or maybe a fight. Fight that you are judged on how much effort both sides put into it.

I stood up from my chair and looked around my small room. It was bleak and boring. All grays and blacks but I didn't spend much time here. I never had. I moved to the door and walked down the stairs making creaking sounds all the way down. 

At the bottom of the stairs I saw my mother. 

"Oh. Hi, I was just about to tell you that lunch is ready." She smiled up at me and I felt it brighten my mood from just being within the vicinity of it. I nodded and continued into the quaint living room and took a seat. My eyes closed and my legs crossed. I brought my hand up to my eyes and messaged my forehead. My face was already scowling and the day wasn't even that stressful yet.

"So are you stressed out about to the rodeo tomorrow or is that just your normal scowl?" She smirked and brought over a sandwich for me to eat.

"Oh, I am sure it's both Mother." I opened my eyes and grabbed the plate. The sandwich looked delicious. Obviously, since my mother made it , it would taste amazing I had no doubt.

"You know I prefer it when you call me mom, Levi." She returned to the kitchen to grab her own sandwich and sat down to eat with me.

"Thanks for the sandwich Mom." I took a bite and watched the rain from the window again. It was harshly beating down on the windows and roof.

_I loved the rain. So calming, and constant._

My thoughts wandered off again to the upcoming rodeo and my dance with Broken Backs.

"You know that I am worried to, right?" She looked at me quizzically.

I smirked.

"You wouldn't be my mom if you weren't worried about something." My Mother giggled a bit at that. I picked a crumb off my shirt and took another couple bites of my sandwich.

"Well that is more than true, I just want you to know that I am gonna be in the audience sitting on the edge of those uncomfortable seats hoping you won't die. So don't die, yeah?" She looks serious, but I just scoff and turn back to the window.

"That is more up to the bull than anyone else, and you know it, Mom."

There was silence for a time after that, and I knew she was thinking about what she would do if I got hurt.

_She'd probably try and threaten the damn bull for gods sake._

I smirked to myself and tried to distract my mind from the potential fate of tomorrow. This time, instead of watching the rain I thought of Eren. Eren was the clown at the rodeo tomorrow. Like me, he lives nearby, and I had been friends with him for a little bit now. He was odd, but hilarious, and I am sure if I wasn't so wigged out from the adrenaline during the rodeo I would probably find many of his jokes amusing.

Eren would do the stupidest stuff too. His job was to entertain the audience and distract them with witty banter back and forth from the announcer while they set up the bulls and mustangs. His job was just as dangerous as mine though, because if the bull came after a rider once he was dismounted, it is the clowns job to distract the bull while the rider gets to safety. he has this barrel he gets in and sometimes the bulls will roll it around and scare the crap out of everybody. 

_I have no idea how he does it._

Mostly though, Eren was fascinating. I found myself always wishing we had more time to talk when he comes to converse with me every year at this rodeo.

That's when my mom decided to speak up.

"So I heard Eren is gonna be at the rodeo again this year." I looked up. I knew where this was going.

"He goes every year mom." I rolled my eyes at her.

"And every year you stare at him like he is the last human on Earth."

"Oh Shut up."

"It's so true." She smiled, and then it faded slightly. "Do be careful tomorrow, okay."

"Of course Mother." I got up and kissed her on the forehead before going up stairs to get ready for the rodeo.


	2. Prepping for War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi has a Migraine, gets a call from Hanji, and starts to think too much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late. My birthday was a couple days ago, and honestly this fic is writing itself, I have no plan ('^'). I wrote 500 more words than I usually do to make up for the lateness (TnT)

The next morning I awoke with an unbearable headache. I was sweating profusely and my comforter was doing it's job way too well. The curtains were pulled shut and darkness was surrounding me. The air felt a bit too thick. My breath was heavy upon my lips, and I could feel it's weight if I tried hard enough. It almost seemed like a panic attack but I quickly abolished the idea.

_Damn...what a way to start this shitty day._

I brought my hands up and rubbed circles into my forehead. Breath entered and exited my lips slowly and I sat up. 

 _This is not how I imagined I would ready myself for a bull ride. Migraines out to get me_.

Swinging my feet over the edge of the bed, I felt the soft carpet under my feet. Usually, I preferred hardwood simply because it's easier to clean (which Mother tells me I do too much of but really there is no such thing) but I hadn't gotten around to removing the carpet from my room. I turned the lamp next to me on and stood up cautiously so that my head wouldn't explode. I saw stars for a couple seconds but started to walk toward the stairs any way. The air still seemed thick and I wondered if it was me or the hot St. Paul summers. 

Oddly enough, I hated the heat. That's why mother and I moved to the Willamette valley so many years ago. It rains a lot here and I enjoy it. Unfortunately we live in St. Paul, which is a small town near Newberg, Oregon and it is dusty and hot like a desert in the summer. I would surely be a hermit during the hotter months if I weren't a bull rider. Mom would probably prefer it if I had a different job, and honestly I had been considering it, but I went to college for a medical degree and it didn't interest me anymore. 

_What kind of job could I get with a medical degree that didn't involve medicine?_

_There probably is a career field out there for me I'm just too stubborn to find it._

I started my decent down the stairs and I smelled a heavenly scent from the kitchen. With my headache still in full gear though, I had a rough time making each step. When I got to the bottom, my mother saw me, and I must have had a severely nasty scowl on my face because her smile withered and she immediately went to grab something for the pain.

"Oh Darling, I really wish you didn't bull ride. You didn't use to have migraines before." She worriedly rushed over with a glass and a pill.

_Oh mother._

"Yes I did. You can't blame my career for everything mother."

I quickly took the pill and set the glass on the kitchen counter top. 

I noticed that she made bacon and eggs with spinach, and it was resting over the stove. Our house was mostly black and white. My mother loved white, and I convinced her to buy a few black things just to offset all the white. The stove being one of the few black things in the kitchen. My mother was even wearing a white sundress. I, of course, was wearing a black tank top and boxer briefs.

My migraine was just barely starting to subside after my mother and I ate, then my phone went off. I groaned and got up from the table. I rinsed off my plate and put it in the dishwasher before answering the phone.

I leaned against the kitchen counter top for support.

"Hello?"

"LEVI OH MY GOD YOU ANSWERED THE PHONE I WAS SURE I WOULD HAVE TO B-"

_Fuck, it's four-eyes. I should have checked caller ID._

I quickly pulled the phone away from my ear before I had a major mental impairment, or my mind  just all out quit.

"Shut the fu-"

"Language!" I looked over and my mother was glaring at me.

_Sometimes I forget that her glare can compete with mine. She is an Ackerman after all._

_And she forgets I'm a fucking 32 year old grown man._

"Anyway, four-eyes. Why'd you call." It wasn't really a question but more of a blank bored statement. Like, 'why do you ever call', 'Oh, I dunno. Just cuz'.

"TODAY IS YOUR LAST RIDE OF THE SUMM-"

"Calmer Hanji."

"Oh shit, you just called me by my name. Are you okay fella?"

"I am having a migraine, shitty-glasses. So quiet the fuck down, okay?"

Another glare from my mother. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, sorry. You still gonna ride?"

"Of course I'm gonna ride. I can't exactly skip out on it the day of."

"Actually you can, your just too stubborn to."

I rolled my eyes again.

"Shut up shitty-glasses, nobody asked you."

She cackled loudly in my ear, and then I heard her sigh.

"Ah, but it's true my little munchkin."

My glare fixed itself onto the back wall.

"Do you wanna lose an eye?"

"That would make an interesting experiment..."

She almost sounded serious for a moment, and then laughed loudly again. I smirked. Oh Hanji, so not predictable. 

"Oh my God Hanji, your insane."

"Always!" 

I could hear her smiling through the phone.

I then decided it was a good time to hang up, and I put my phone onto the counter. My glare returned and I leaned farther over the counter top. My thoughts once again wander to today's bull ride, but this time I thought of Eren. 

_I wonder if he is freaking out right now or if he is calmly getting ready with excitement. I am sure he has done this so many times that he hardly gives a thought to safety. He always seems so comfortable out there, running around protecting the riders, spouting witty banter as he goes._

 I was nervous of what today would hold, but I felt safer knowing that funny cute brat would be there trying to protect me. I sort of felt as though I had a crush on the brat but I never had I chance to indulge in it. Our conversations were brief, or at least felt that way, and I didn't know him that well to begin with. I would love know him more, even if we never became more than friends. Unfortunately, my personality was rough around the edges and very few people could stand to be near me.

_With an exception to Four-eyes because I'm sure they must be a masochist._

My arms started to go numb form leaning so much so I leaned away from the counter. Rubbing at my arms I walked upstairs to get dressed for the rodeo. 

Normally I would be at the rodeo the night before my ride, but today I was only needed at the later showing of the rodeo, so I opted to come on the morning. 

My trip upstairs was short and I quickly put on my log-sleeved white shirt, a belt, and jeans. I grabbed my gear and hurried back downstairs even though I didn't have to. It was still about 6:00 in the morning. I waved to my mother on the way out the door. She wouldn't be at the rodeo until the actual show begun. 

I wanted to get there early because I knew that Eren would be there and this time I was going to talk as long as I could without being weird.

_Ugh, this crush is gonna kill me._

_Literally, it might. If I think about him while on the bull I might become unfocused and that could become deadly._

The view from the house wasn't that amazing, but there was quiet a distance of sand and dirt beyond the front porch. St. Paul really isn't much to look at. The population is about 420 people and on any day you need to expect dust and dirt to be in the air. The whole city smells like animals because 90% of it's people own a farm, but the people here are down-to-earth and honestly good. The Rodeo happens every year and that's when our town becomes a mini tourist attraction.

People from all over Oregon come to see one of the oldest traditions in American history. The good old fashioned American Rodeo. 

I can't say I love the dirt or the smell of shit in the morning but I love the smell of hay on the wind, and horses have a special place in my heart. Also, against all the odds, I actually like some of the people here. That, in and of itself, is a small miracle. One of many, it would seem, in the small town of St. Paul. 

I walked to my old rusted truck ( _the inside meticulously cleaned, mind you_ ) and started the engine. 

The drive to the rodeo wasn't a long one, but the small roads and quaint charm of the town leave every person wondering how long they've really stayed. And once you've stayed a couple hours here, the city leaves a St. Paul sized impression on your heart. Nobody ever forgets this place. 

_I sure didn't. I was so taken aback that I actually convinced my mother to buy a place all those years ago._

When I finally parked my car in the St. Paul Rodeo participants lot, I took a deep breath and readied myself for the day to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I should have another chapter up by Wednesday of THIS WEEK (if all goes according to the plan...). Love you all. I survive on Kudos and comments. Please feed me. Again thank you for reading.


	3. Fire Within ME

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi talks to Eren!!!!! And Jean is and Idiot...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told you there would be another chapter within the week! I have actual plans now. Also, there are new tags so go check it out. Honestly this fic is writing itself I swear.

What happened after I left my vehicle is boring and I won't bore you with all the gritty details. Basically Hanji, the rodeo physical therapist, doctor, surgeon, and all out crazy smart person, check up on me (lots of them yelling and me just glaring or cursing). Hanji checked all my vitals making sure that I didn't have anything extremely out of place, and then they gave me a hug, which I struggled through and then punched them (not hard more like a tap than anything). They wished me luck and I went to grab all my sponsored shit from Hanji's trailer 

When that was all done and I was wearing all the clothing with the sponsors on it, I walked away from all the trailers, took a deep breath, and took a good look around. The rodeo wasn't really the rodeo yet. All the shopping booths with nick-knacks and western themed stuff were just starting to set up and all the food booths weren't here yet. 

_Thank god for that because I can't deal with people just yet._

I noticed the ground was hard dirt and would soon became dusty after the days people walked through it. The rodeo arena itself was standing tall above the few trees and the dust. It was a landmark standing purposefully against the rest of St. Paul.

As a child I never would have thought I would become a bull-rider but I have become one nonetheless. I remember coming to the rodeo here at St. Paul as a teenager and it seemed very old. Bull riding, that is. The town itself looks as if it hasn't changed in decades, but bull riding just feels like something that people have done for centuries. An American tradition before football was even a thing here. I later found out of course that it was as old as I thought it was and immediately I had a huge respect for them. The bull riders, but also the bulls themselves.

The two of them caught in a strange and beautiful dance for eight seconds that determines both of their fates.

_The Rodeo is one of the few things America can actually claim as an American tradition._

My eyes drifted toward the skies. I saw a few clouds but nothing too bad. Today was gonna be rather hot and I knew that I would be sweating within the hour. The still rising sun was splashing yellow orange and green across the new sky. The sky was mostly a striking blue, a much bluer blue than a normal St. Paul summer day, and found myself staring for a while longer than I expected. 

_Reminds me of a certain cute brats eyes._

"Hey Levi! What's up?" I jumped as I heard a familiar voice behind me. I turned to face him and saw that it was Eren walking towards me. 

His brown hair was a bit longer than last time I saw him. It was slightly curly and looked messy. His bangs stopped right before his eyes. His blue-green eyes were looking particularly sparkly today. He had a gentle smile on his face and already had a microphone on his shirt and a communication devise in his ear. 

"Oh, nothing really." He walked up beside me.

"What were you looking at?" 

"The sky." 

"What were you thinking about?"

_You._

"You have a lot of questions don't you." My glare was back.

"There's the Levi I remember! I was worried. I don't know if you actually realized how long you were staring upward. I was wondering if you were cursing God or something since that would be more in character than star gazing." He smirked at that. I smirked too but my glare didn't fade.

"Brat." He put his hands on his hips.

"Jerk." My glare faded.

"I was wondering if it would rain today." He raised an eyebrow.

_What? Jeez you brat._

"For fifteen minutes?" 

_Oh was a really gazing off into the distance for that long?_

I started glaring at him again.

"Wait. How long exactly have you been watching me, Jeager?"

When I used his last name it always made him squirm because I made it sound like I was his superior. He probably thinks I only call him by his last name but I call a lot of people by their last names.

He blushed and started stuttering.

"Uh-um, I-I uh..." He swallowed and looked around frantically as if trying to find an excuse.

_It's kind of cute how he goes from confident adult to blushing idiot in under a second._

"Let me guess, fifteen minutes?" He nodded and his blush increased. 

Why was he staring at me for fifteen minutes? Well I could probably continue to watch his blush but I actually had to get to the arena and check out the bull chutes.

"Well, I got to go kid, see ya." I turned around and started to walk away. I waved goodbye to him on my way to the cattle chutes.

"Bye Levi!"

I let myself smile softly and think of Eren and his happy face for a few more seconds before I replaced it again with my normal scowl. I've already spent too much time looking at beautiful things this morning, time to get to business. I have to look over a few of the bulls and brace my arm, of course I should probably wait to brace my arm until the actual rodeo.

I went around to the back of the rodeo arena and the closer I got to the bulls the more I could smell the hay, which eased my muscles, but I could also smell the shit and sweat and that set me on edge again.

_Ugh. Why am I doing this again?_

I would have to take so many showers when I got home. The bulls came into view and I walked around their corral. They all looked rather relaxed and bored. Just eating and roaming as they could in the smaller enclosure. I looked around a bit searching for the people taking care of them. I soon saw two guys standing near the horse corral. Dark haired and freckled one was filling the water buckets from outside the horse corral and the horse looking idiot one was leaning against the bull corral checking out freckles ass. 

_Fucking idiots. Horseface is going to fall through the bull corral if he isn't careful._

"Oi, idiots!" I continued to walk towards them. Horseface looked towards me.

"If you don't stop staring at freckles ass over there you are gonna fall into the bull corral." Horseface glared at me and stopped leaning against the corral. 

Freckles turned toward Horseface. He looked a little flustered but he didn't say anything yet.

"What's your problem asshole?" Horseface didn't very happy. His scowl made his face even uglier than it already was. I glared him down and he faltered slightly.

"My problem is you should be working and not endangering people, or checking them out. Idiot." 

His glare intensified, but so did mine.

_Back off kid._

"Jean back off, let's go back to work. Or start working in your case." I hear freckles say.

Horseface's glare softened and he blushed slightly. He turned around walked back over to Freckles and helped him with the rest of the water buckets.

_Well, glad I came back to check it out._

_Ugh. What a way to start my day. I am tired already._

I walked back to Hanji's trailer and got something to eat.

_Maybe I will see Eren again before the rodeo starts._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and I love y'all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! My Email otakumickie@gmail.com.


End file.
